For these lottery winners, a dream come true turned into a nightmare

View full sizeTed Crow, The Plain DealerAnother week gone, another week without winning the lottery.

And that just might be a good thing.

You likely haven't heard about the sad case of Abraham Shakespeare. Winner in 2006 of a $31 million lottery jackpot in Florida, he had spent away most of his fortune by the time he disappeared early in 2009.

His body was found last month under a concrete slab. A woman who had befriended him -- and fleeced him for $1.8 million, say police -- has been charged in connection with his murder.

Yes, there are plenty of jackpot winners who manage their riches well and turn their prize into a true blessing for family and community. But there are others, too, who discover that millions of dollars can be a curse.

PDQ searched newspaper archives to compile a list of 10 (there are plenty more) of these cautionary tales.

Callie Rogers

Won: $3 million.

Where: England.

What happened: In 2003, at just 16, Rogers became the second youngest winner ever in the U.K. lottery. She bought and decorated four homes and spent liberally on vacations, cars, gifts, drugs and even breast implants.

Ernst Peters, The Ledger via APHillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigators dig and sift an area that was underneath a concrete slab in the back yard of a home in Plant City Fla. Human remains have been found near a home where investigators were searching for the body Abraham Shakespeare, a missing man who won millions of dollars in the lottery nearly four years ago, Florida sheriff's officials said.

Today: Late in 2009, Rogers was 22, bankrupt, a single mom and living with her mother. She was driving a used Volkswagen Golf to her job as a maid and had twice attempted suicide.

Quote: "Hopefully now that it has all gone, I can find some happiness."

Willie Hurt

Won: $3.1 million.

Where: Michigan.

What happened: Within two years after winning his fortune, in 1989, Hurt found himself divorced, penniless and charged with killing a woman over crack cocaine.

Today: There have been no updates on Hurt since 1991.

Quote: "This is a very sad case." -- Hurt's attorney, in 1991.

Ibi Roncaioli

Won: $5 million.

Where: Canada.

What happened: By 2003, 12 years after splitting a $10 million jackpot with a friend, Roncaioli had turned her fortune into a $1 million debt. Her doctor husband, soon after discovering the financial mess, injected her with a lethal mixture of painkillers. In 2004, he was convicted of manslaughter.

View full sizeNYT Michael Carroll's home in Swaffham, England, in 2005.

Michael Carroll

Won: $15 million.

Where: England.

What happened: After pocketing his jackpot in 2002, the 26-year-old Carroll was quickly dubbed the "lotto lout" by the British press as he squandered away his winnings on drugs, jewelry, cars and houses. He even held demolition derbies with his vehicles in his back yard, often setting them ablaze afterward.

Today: Carroll has served two prison sentences and reportedly is broke.

Quote: "I regret the drugs. I can't say I regret the women."

William "Bud" Post

Won: $16.2 million.

Where: Pennsylvania.

What happened: The former circus cook was broke within a year because of lavish spending (he bought his own airplane without ever learning to fly), bad investments and an ex who successfully sued him for a chunk of the fortune. He lost more, too. His brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him.

Today: Post died in 2006 of respiratory failure. At the time, he was living on $450 a month and food stamps.

Quote: "I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare."

Janite Lee

Won: $18 million.

Where: Illinois.

What happened: A wig-shop owner, Lee won her jackpot in 1993. She then blew it on bad investments, gambling and generosity, donating millions to charities, schools and political candidates. When she filed for bankruptcy in 2001, she had $700 in the bank.

Today: At last report, Lee was living in a room at a friend's house and enjoying a diet of "noodles and vegetables."

Quote: "As much money as she was receiving, she was spending -- plus." -- Lee's lawyer, in 2001.

Jeffrey Dampier

Won: $20 million.

Where: Illinois.

What happened: Dampier used his fortune, won in 1996, to move to Florida and open a gourmet popcorn shop. In 2005, he was kidnapped, robbed and murdered -- by his own sister-in-law and her boyfriend.

What happened: The 74-year-old Parker, who seemed to be enjoying retirement with her 77-year-old husband, Kenneth, won the jackpot in 2003 but refused to share the money with him. She then locked him out of the new condo she had purchased with the winnings. They divorced. He sued her, eventually winning a $3 million settlement.

Today: Less than a year after they won the jackpot, Kenneth succumbed to cancer.

Quote: "The money came in and the love walked out." -- Kenneth's lawyer.

Billy Bob Harrell Jr.

Won: $31 million.

Where: Texas.

What happened: Harrell, a hard-working family man of 47, was stocking shelves at Home Depot when he won his jackpot. He spent lavishly, on art, antique cars and real estate, and gave to his congregation and to almost anyonewho asked for help. He also showered gifts on a young girlfriend.

Today: Amid a divorce, depression and financial ruin, Harrell committed suicide in 1999, less than two years after winning the lottery.

Quote: "Winning the lottery is the worst thing that ever happened to me."

APJack Whittaker

Jack Whittaker

Won: $315 million.

Where: West Virginia.

What happened: After winning the then-record jackpot, Whittaker felt the full force of the lottery curse: DUI charges, thefts (he was robbed of more than $500,000 outside of a strip club), lawsuits, and, saddest of all, in 2004, the death of his 17-year-old granddaughter, Brandi, whom he supported with a monthly allowance, of a drug overdose.

Today: Whittaker is dealing with even more loss: In July 2009, his 42-year-old daughter Ginger was found dead in her home.

Quote: "If I knew what was going to transpire, honestly, I would have torn the ticket up." -- Whittaker's ex-wife.

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